Fort McPherson – 475+ Acres of South Atlanta Hope??

 

What is going on with the Fort McPherson development on Lee Street in south west Atlanta?  Strategically located between the Oakland City and Ft. McPherson/Lakewood MARTA rail stations, this former Army Base was finally beginning to show signs of development four years ago.  That is when Tyler Perry purchased the majority of the property and the remaining (approximately) 145 acres has been slowly planned for community use with community input.

It was beginning to look as if the Oakland City/Ft Mac communities, with an average household income of less than $20,000, were about to get a “good deal”.  Now, the project that includes lots of community input, has come to a halt.

In the Saporta Report, Maria Saporta weighs in and is asking City Hall some really tough questions.  I welcomed the opportunity to add my two cents.  See her article on the link below:

Questions surround future of Fort Mac redevelopment

Be sure to leave your thoughts about what could be the best project for Atlanta residents because 60% of the housing units are slated to be affordable!

 

Don’t Ask, Demand Transit Funding From GA General Assembly

 

Billions in transit funding needed to build and connect MARTA as additional counties “get with the program”. Billions found for toll lanes.  And, former Gov. Deal even kicked on $400 million for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).  @AJC article explains it well. Read & demand more funds for all More MARTA projects to connect to future regional projects as the other 19 counties complete their transportation plans later this year.

If the state can find hundreds of millions for the GA 400 BRT Transit project, then they can also find hundreds of billions the rest of the region for much needed Light Rail (LRT) & Heavy Rail transit projects. OUR legislators always find funding for their pet projects!

Our voices and our votes matter!  We can no longer simply allow state elected officials to vote as they please. ‘Democracy is not a spectator sport’.  Democracy is a representative system of government.  Those elected are paid with our tax dollars. So, they work for us!  Do not get it twisted!!  What happens in the halls and chambers of the Georgia State Capitol determines our quality of life both now and in the future. Traffic gridlock is at an all time high and getting worst as  tens of thousands of new residents annually moving to Georgia…especially the metro Atlanta region.

And, we all know, as proven by research done by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and numerous other organizations, the solution to Atlanta’s growing traffic nightmares is to heavily invest in a regional transportation plan. So far, we see that toll lanes around I-285, except the southern (Airport) section has been funded.  Anything wrong with that plan?? 

And, MARTA is struggling to find local and federal matching funds for its long list of worthy transit expansion projects. The state can no longer dance around their fiscal responsibility to correct the fact that they controlled, yet did not fund MARTA during its’ first 45 years.  Yet, these same state officials love to brag, Georgia is the #1 state to do business!  Really??  How many more companies are being told the dirty secret about why Georgia chose to “starve” its only commuter transit system…to reveal the real reason why Georgia was the only state to not fund its’ transit system until January of 2018. The AJC, the Saporta Report (in the Atlanta Business Chronicle)!and many others have revealed these dirty little racist decisions.

It has been 47 years of injustice and outright sabotage to the regional and state transportation plans. Are we as taxpayers going to sit back and let this current 30-40 year transportation plan suffer the same fate?  Or, are we going to stand up, speak out, and demand state lawmakers right this wrong with by finding hundreds of billions to expand and build a “real” transportation system as our northern, Midwestern, and western states; and countries overseas that includes:  Germany, European countries, Rio de Janero, Japan, China, etc. that allow residents and tourists to avoid the traffic and take public transit. It is smart, efficient, and expensive. Yet so worth it if Atlanta really wants to be a world class city.

Georgia State Legislators are elected every two years.  There are 180+ state reps and 56 state senators.  That means they are all up for re-election in 2020.  So, do we tell them they must change their views and votes to fully support transportation funding?  Do we find and fund opposition for those who refuse our demand?  This is a chance we can make next year, if we start right now!  We can no longer ask or beg. We have the power of our vote to make sure our 2020 votes send a message all the way down our presidential year ballots!!

Are you in?  Will you commit now to make sure everyone who voted against HB 930 and those against fully funding and securing additional P3 (public private partnerships) transit expansion funds?

This is a huge opportunity for us to draw a line in the sand and make sure our state lawmakers know to support our transit expansion NOW, or to spruce up their resumes for their next job.

What are your thoughts??

https://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/are-toll-lanes-really-the-answer-atlanta-traffic-mess/IH4lSj3oA6u6OIhXH4MLCI/?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8628667&ecmp=newspaper_email&

Preservation of U.S. History

In the midst of the national debate about confederate statues, we must take the discussion to new heights here in metro Atlanta.  As an Atlanta native who has lived all over country, it is unfortunate that the other cities valued and preserved their historic structures while Atlanta continues to tear them down without a second thought. Initially I thought it was because there are so many people here from other places that they don’t care??  Yet, at least half of our current City Council members (many have served 2-4 terms or 8-16 years), the Council President and the Mayor are natives.  Hmmm. So, how could this continue to happen on their watch??

A recent column written by metro area writer Maria Saporta, complete with reader comments, asks several other good questions about preserving local Atlanta history.  This history includes the precious home of Grace Towns Hamilton, the first Black woman elected to the Georgia Legislature and daughter of George Alexander Towns; an educator and man my elementary school was named after.

Grace Towns Hamilton in the House Chamber of the Georgia Legislature.  (Source GA History Center)

Grace Towns Hamilton House in grave need of preservation. (Photo by Brandy Morrison.)

http://www.atlantapreservationcenter.com/place_detail?id=15&pt=1

Maria’s article also includes African American buildings as Morris Brown’s Gaines Hall and Atlanta Life Insurance Company’s first home on Auburn Avenue. I applaud Maria for pulling together this important story because the sale and tearing down of two historic Atlanta churches to make room for a football stadium still makes me sick to my stomach.  And it makes me question why other historic churches all along Peachtree Street were built around like the church across from Colony Square.  And, how about the church next door to the Fulton County Courthouse on Pryor or the one across the street from the State Capitol on Washington…just to name a few.

I believe you will enjoy this article. And, I hope you will think of how you might be a part of a movement to preserve the African American and Civil Rights structures included in the article as well others across the state.

https://saportareport.com/forget-symbols-confederacy-instead-lets-preserve-african-american-heritage/

In conclusion, here is information about Pascal’s Restaurant.  It’s where I walked on rare occasions after being on the tennis courts all day at Washington Park, if I had money for one of their famous fried chicken dinners in the 1970’s.

 

Paschal Brother’s Restaurant & Hotel. Owned and used by Clark Atlanta as a student dorm until 2004.

http://socialshutter.blogspot.com/2013/01/atlantas-warped-civil-right-legacy-sad.html?m=1

This is an important quote from the 2013 article in the link above about how Paschal’s can be preserved;

“If the city of Atlanta can consider sinking money into a new football stadium to draw tourists to the area, shouldn’t it also invest in restoring Paschal’s and its surrounding neighborhood, which may have even greater tourist potential?”

The question now is:  Do we care enough to preserve it and similar important historic structures??

Thanks in advance for leaving your comments and sharing this blog. The more people who know, means more who might help with a full scaled preservation project.